Volume 1, Chapter 388 – Prodigies Like Rain

“The people of Yunlai Immortal Palace have already arranged lodgings for her. If you wish to see her, I can summon her here at once.”

The old man spoke slowly, his expression respectful.

“There is no need.”

The man rose to his feet. His physique was powerfully built, and in his eyes, stars and seas seemed to rise and fall, unfathomably deep. His hair, bound by a purple-gold crown, fell loose behind him, and his aura was imposing.

“When the event begins, this king will go see her in person. For now, do not disturb her.”

“This subordinate understands.”

…

There was still half a month left before Yunlai Immortal Palace’s grand internal competition, yet on the roads outside the palaces, terrifying spirit beasts could often be seen passing through, making the earth rumble with their mighty presence.

As a first-grade force, Yunlai Immortal Palace stood loftily above all others and was guarded by several Sovereign Weapons. Those who came here for the gathering all put on the grandest possible display.

After observing for several days, Shi Lan began to discern a few patterns.

According to the different invitations, the guests who had come to observe were also divided into three tiers.

The first-tier guests held invitations identical to the one in her hand, bluish white, with a jade base and gold trim. Their arrivals were also the most extravagant, with flood-dragons drawing their carriages and flocks of heavenly horses accompanying them. Some were even surrounded by the aura of Emperor laws.

The next tier of invitations had black backgrounds with silver trim. Their comings and goings were also marked by processions of carriages, and there was no lack of Heavenlords among them.

The third tier of invitations had white backgrounds with white trim. These made up the largest number of visitors. They arrived mostly in groups of more than ten, nearly all of them young people, usually led by great cultivators of the Nascent Soul Realm, with the occasional Heaven-Man leading the group.

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The three tiers were housed in different residences within Silverfrost City. The ice palace where Shi Lan was currently staying was in the best location, with the densest spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

For martial artists who cultivated cold-aspect methods, training here would allow their progress to advance by leaps and bounds overnight.

As the date of the grand competition drew closer, all of Silverfrost City began to fill with vibrant life.

…

Before the main gates of Silverfrost City, a group of several dozen people slowly came to a stop. Their clothing varied, but each of their collars was embroidered with a golden sun in gold thread. Most of them were young, and leading them was a burly man in black carrying a pitch-black giant blade on his back.

The younger disciples following behind him looked at the city of ice and snow before them with stunned expressions. They had never imagined that within the Lingyang Realm, there could exist such a terrifyingly vast city.

Many of them were here for the first time, though some had attended in previous years.

Among the crowd, a refined-looking man in a black brocade robe showed a calm expression, revealing no particular reaction.

Beside him stood a pretty young woman who looked to be twenty-three or twenty-four years old. She wore green robes, and her eyes too were filled with amazement.

The guide at the front handed the black invitation with silver trim to the guard at the gate.

“Sacred Martial Immortal Sect.”

The guard gave it a casual glance and pointed toward the small side gate that stood open nearby.

There were at least seventy or eighty second-grade forces arriving today, and the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect was hardly conspicuous among them.

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Of course, if the Human Emperor himself had come, he would naturally have had the right to enter through the main gate. After all, many second-grade forces had no Human Emperor of their own and only maintained their standing through a few Human Emperor weapons.

Luo Xiuhan paid no mind to the guard’s somewhat dismissive attitude. To Yunlai Immortal Palace, the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect indeed did not count as any particularly honored guest.

Before the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect’s group could go inside, a streak of light split open the snowstorm. A guide raised his hand and flung out a bluish invitation with a jade base and gold trim.

“Open the gate at once!”

The guard caught the invitation, opened it, and his expression changed. He hurriedly ordered the main city gates to be opened.

Less than the time it took an incense stick to burn after the main gates were opened, a white-haired old man drove a dragon carriage roaring past and entered the city.

The six flood-dragons drawing the carriage possessed terrifying blood and qi, surging like waves and no weaker than great cultivators of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Among the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect’s party, Shi Feng’s gaze sharpened. In that brief glimpse, he saw a few clues. Those six flood-dragons were only secondary. The white-haired old man driving the carriage was, in fact, a true Heaven-Man Realm great power.

To have a Heaven-Man drive the carriage, the person inside the dragon carriage was certainly of extraordinary status.

The eyes of the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect disciples were full of longing. To have flood-dragons draw one’s carriage and receive courtesy from a behemoth like Yunlai Immortal Palace, what more could a man ask for in life?

Fang Chan, standing beside Shi Feng, saw the change in his expression and assumed his mind had been shaken. She could not help speaking to comfort him.

“Senior Brother Feng, with your current strength, you are extremely likely to make it onto the Heavenly Prodigy Record this time. There is no need to think about anything else for now.”

“The times are no longer what they once were. The human, devil, and demon races number in the billions. Prodigies fall like rain. There are many stronger than I am.”

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Shi Feng shook his head slightly, his gaze dimming as a figure surfaced in his mind.

“Junior Brother Feng, you are being far too modest.”

“You are the only one in our Sacred Martial Immortal Sect in the past thirty years to have entered the Sacred Dragon Pool. You have already been completely reborn and opened the profound gate of life and death. Even ordinary martial artists at the late stage of the Heavenly Astral Realm are no match for you. Why belittle yourself?”

The rest of the disciples came back to themselves and, hearing Shi Feng’s words, all began speaking up.

“This grand competition will surely make Senior Brother famous far and wide, and the same will be true for our Sacred Martial Immortal Sect!”

Shi Feng felt no stir in his heart at the words of his fellow disciples. The only reason he had come was because he had heard that this was a grand gathering of prodigies, and perhaps she would come here.

At the thought of that, a trace of anticipation could not help rising in Shi Feng’s heart. For reasons he could not explain, he still wanted to see her one more time.

…

The day of the grand competition soon arrived. At first light, a group of people appeared outside the palace where Shi Lan was staying. All of them had dark cloud-pattern embroidery at their cuffs, marking them as disciples of Yunlai Immortal Palace.

“Our Yunlai Immortal Palace’s grand internal competition is about to begin. Esteemed guest, please come with me.”

One disciple brought over a jade carriage. After Shi Lan and Tianbai boarded, it sped toward the center of Silverfrost City.

At the same time, thousands of carriages set out one after another, racing toward the center of Silverfrost City.

The carriage was extremely fast, but Silverfrost City was simply too enormous. Nearly two hours passed before Shi Lan finally arrived at the plaza where the grand competition was to be held.

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It was an area stretching dozens of li across, with more than a hundred arena platforms scattered throughout.

Pavilions and towers lined the perimeter of the plaza, clearly meant for the guests who had come to observe.

Suspended above the arena platforms was an enormous ancient mirror that nearly blotted out the sky. A hazy glow flickered across its surface, and from time to time, an inadvertent trace of imperial divine might flowed from it.

This was a terrifying Sovereign Weapon, possessing unimaginable power. Even the occasional thread of its aura was enough to make one’s spine turn cold.

Shi Lan swept her gaze around and found that there were not many people present yet. She was probably among the earliest to arrive.

“Please follow me.”

The disciple guiding her raised a hand and led Shi Lan around a ring of pavilions before stopping in front of a three-story tower.

“Please.”

Shi Lan entered with Tianbai, while the disciple did not follow them inside.

She went straight up to the third floor by the stairs and pushed open the window. Instantly, her view widened to encompass the entire plaza.

Not long after Shi Lan sat down, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from downstairs.

The footsteps were heavy, as though intentionally meant as a warning.

Shi Lan’s gaze swept toward the stairway entrance. A middle-aged man in a purple robe entered her line of sight.